Jan. 17, 2012
USDvsPORTnotes 
GAME #18: The USD Toreros (6-11, 1-4 WCC) head to the Pacific Northwest this week for games against Portland and Gonzaga. San Diego takes on the Portland Pilots (5-13, 2-3) first on Thursday, January 19th. The game will tip-off at 8:05 p.m. at the Chiles Center (4,852). USD plays at Gonzaga on Saturday in a 5:00 p.m. contest.
SERIES RECORD: This is the 69th meeting between USD and Portland with the Toreros owning a 41-27 series edge... The Pilots, who have won 5 straight in the series, swept the Toreros last season (79-64 in Portland on Jan. 27th; 65-61 at the JCP on Feb. 24th)... Two seasons ago Portland won all three meetings including the quarterfinal match-up at the WCC Tournament on March 6, 2010 by the score of 72-57... Ken Rancifer led USD with a career-best 20 points (4-7 in threes) in that contest... In the regular season the Pilots won in Portland on Feb. 11th (70-56), and in San Diego on January 14th (63-54).
RADIO/TV/INTERNET: Thursday's game will air on XTRA Sports 1360 AM with Andy Masur calling the action; his pre-game show will air 15 minutes prior to tip-off. In addition to the live broadcasts airing on XTRA's terrestrial signal, fans will also be able to hear the broadcast on their computers via live stream at XTRASports1360.com and on their smart phones via the free iheartradio application. The contest will also air on Comcast Northwest (Scott Lynn, Bob Weiss & Abby Chin) and be picked up locally on Channel 4 San Diego. An audio feed is also available free of charge at www.usdtoreros.com.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (thru Jan. 16th): Saint Mary's College (6-0 WCC, 17-2), BYU (5-1, 16-4), Gonzaga (4-1, 14-3), Loyola Marymount (3-2, 10-8), Portland (2-3, 5-13), San Francisco (2-4, 12-8), San Diego (1-4, 6-11), Pepperdine (1-5, 7-10), Santa Clara (0-4, 8-9).
COACH GRIER (5TH YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990) is in his fifth season at the helm of the USD program... He enters the Portland game with a record of 6-11 (61-86 career)... This season is hightlighted by the team's 2nd place showing at the Hoops for Hope Classic in New Orleans, and its recent WCC road win at Santa Clara... Last season was highlighted with the team's 74-66 home win over #23 Saint Mary's, along with a 67-64 win over Utah on Christmas Day... The 2009-10 season was highlighted by wins over Stanford, #25 Oklahoma, Houston and Boise State... His second campaign (16-16 mark in 2008-09) was highlighted by road wins over Oregon and Mississippi State... In his rookie year (2007-08) he guided the Toreros to an overall mark of 22-14 and 3rd place finish in the WCC race at 11-3... He guided the Toreros to three wins and the championship title at the WCC Tournament (hosted by USD) with wins over Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and No. 20 Gonzaga... The Toreros then upset No. 15 UCONN in the NCAA Tournament opener with a 70-69 overtime victory, before falling to Western Kentucky in the second round... His 11 WCC wins were the second most for league wins in a single season in program history... Hired on March 26, 2007, Grier is USD's 11th head coach overall and just the 4th head coach since the Torero program moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1979-80... His 22 wins in 2007-08 were also the most by a Torero coach in his first season at USD. In addition to knocking off Kentucky on the road, 81-72, the Toreros earned three wins over Top-25 teams: #21 Saint Mary's, #20 Gonzaga and #15 Connecticut... Prior to USD Grier spent 16 years at Gonzaga, including the last 8 seasons as Mark Few's top assistant. Bill and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters, Giselle & Ashley.
TORERO TIDBITS: Through 5 WCC games, USD has already faced three of the four current top WCC teams (Saint Mary's, BYU twice and LMU)... The Toreros continue this stretch of tough league games with the always difficult trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Portland Pilots and the other top upper division team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs... Sophomore forward Dennis Kramer matched his career-highs of 15 points and 4 blocked shots to go with 8 rebounds in the team's 82-63 home loss to BYU this past Monday... USD's freshman backcourt of Johnny Dee (12 points) and Christopher Anderson (11 points) also reached double-digit figures in the scoring column... Last Thursday the Toreros earned their first WCC win of the season with an impressive 75-62 road win at Santa Clara as Johnny Dee matched his season-high with 26 points (Maine) and junior forward Ken Rancifer turned in a solid performance with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots... The Torero defense was the key as they held the SCU Broncos to 27.6% shooting (16-58)... USD's road win at Santa Clara was its first "true" road victory (excluding neutral site games) since a 66-44 win over Pepperdine (1-20-2010)... USD looks to snap a 3-game skid at Portland's Chiles Center.
BYU DEALS TOREROS 82-63 LOSS: The University of San Diego hung tough with the BYU Cougars for much of the first half, but the Cougars' sharp shooting was eventually too much in an 82-63 defeat. The Toreros (6-11, 1-4 WCC) opened the game on 9-2 run and the Cougars clawed their way back and had their first lead 19-17 with 9:47 remaining. Dennis Kramer came to play for the Toreros from the tip-off. He had 13 points, 6 rebounds and two blocks in the first half with some polished interior post moves. Kramer tied career-highs with points (15) and blocks (four) and also pulled down eight rebounds. USD trimmed the lead to 25-27 with 4:23 remaining in the first half, but the Cougars (16-4, 5-1 WCC) got their biggest lead of the half at 37-29 after a Brock Zylstra three-pointer in the final seconds. The Toreros did a good job defensively on BYU's Brandon Davies in the first half, limiting him to just four points. He came into the game averaging 19.8 points per game in conference play. He finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. BYU's three-point shooting was the story of the night. The Cougars converted 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from outside. Zylstra was dialed in all evening from the perimeter, knocking down five of his eight three-point attempts as part of his game-high 17 points. Johnny Dee and Christopher Anderson both finished in double digits for the Toreros with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
DEE FOR THREE: Freshman guard Johnny Dee continues to lead the Toreros in scoring at 15.0 points per game (4th in WCC)... He has made more baskets (51) beyond the three-point line than he has inside it (36)... Among WCC players, he ranks 2nd in three-pointers made per game (3.0) and in three-point shooting percentage (.432, 51x118)... He has made at least one three-pointer in every game except one (0-6 at BYU), and his 8 made treys against Maine (26 points) matched the school record... Over the last four WCC games he has combined to convert 17 of 35 three-pointers while averaging 21.0 ppg with totals of 22 points (SMC), 24 points (LMU), 26 points (SCU) and 12 points (BYU)... Dee already owns 6 games of 22 or more points this season... His 26 points at Santa Clara matched his previous high set against Maine... Last year as a senior at Rancho Buena Vista HS in San Diego, Dee averaged 32.8 points while earning First Team All-State honors.
ANDERSON A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES: Freshman guard Christopher Anderson, all 5'7", 150 lbs. of him, has started the last 10 games for the Toreros and it looks like he will be the team's starting point guard for some time to come... He is coming off an 11 point, 3 assist, 3 steal effort vs. BYU... He turned in an 8 point-8 assist performance in win at Santa Clara... He scored a season-best 16 points against Saint Mary's to go with 6 assists, then followed up with 13 points, 8 assists and 4 steals against the LMU Lions... He leads the Toreros in assists (4.5; 4th in WCC) and steals (1.6; 4th in WCC). As a starter in last 10 games he is averaging 8.6 ppg, 5.7 assists, 3.2 rpg and 2.0 steals... Last year he was named Orange County player of the year while competing at Canyon HS in Anaheim, California.
BICKERSTAFF TO BE INDUCTED INTO BREITBARD HALL OF FAME: Former USD basketball player and head coach Bernie Bickerstaff will be one of four inductees into the Breitbard Hall of Fame at the 2012 Salute to the Champions slated for February 15th. Bickerstaff was a quality basketball player for USD, but it was as a coach for the Toreros and seven NBA teams that he is being honored. From the time he was offered the coaching job at USD at the ripe age of 24 years old, Bickerstaff has been among the most sought-after and respected basketball coaches in the game. After just four years and a 55-49 record (1969-73) with USD, he became an NBA assistant with the Washington Bullets and never looked back, eventually rising to the top as head coach with Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte.
SCOUTING THE PORTLAND PILOTS: The Portland Pilots (2-3 WCC, 5-13) have won both of their home league contests (84-74 over SCU, 53-43 vs. Pepperdine), while dropping road contests at Gonzaga (90-51), San Francisco (104-70) and Saint Marys' (69-61)... In their most recent game against Saint Mary's, the Pilots were paced by 6-11 freshman center Thomas van der Mars (18 points) and 6-7 sophomore forward Ryan Nicholas (16 points)... In their loss against the USF Dons, Portland was paced by Nicholas (12 points) and 5-10 sophomore guard Tim Douglas (11 points)... For the season the Pilots are paced by Nicholas (11.6 ppg and 7.4 rpg)... Through 5 WCC games Nicholas is also the team's top performer (12.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg)... Portland is 3-3 overall in home games this season at the Chiles Center... Their three non-conference wins came against Florida Atlantic (70-65), Georgia State (66-61) and Lewis & Clark (76-64)... As a team Portland is averaging 64.9 points and 34.3 rebounds while surrendering 76.8 points and 34.2 rpg to its opponents... Head Coach Eric Reveno (6th year, 83-94) returns 2 starters and 9 letterwinners from last year's 20-12 team (7-7 WCC, 5th). Portland SID: Jason Brough, brough@up.edu.
